The present invention relates to automated animal feed systems, and in particular to a wear plate and wheel mounting arrangement for feed conveyor corner units.
Automated animal feed systems, such as for poultry and the like, typically include feed conveyors which are located on at least one side of each tier or battery of confinement cages, and automatically transport feed from a central storage area to an open trough disposed along the cages. A conveyor loop is provided for each tier of cages, and comprises interconnected trough sections in which an endless carrier, such as a drag chain or conveyor belt, is transported. The conveyor loops are typically arranged in a generally rectangular or polygon configuration, with a mechanism positioned at each corner of the conveyor to guide the feed carrier around the corner.
In rectangular conveyor arrangements, a chain circuit corner or post assembly is provided at three corners of the conveyor, and a corner feeder is located at the fourth corner to add fresh, make-up feed to the conveyor. As taught by U.S. Pat. No. 3,444,986, in recent years each such corner unit preferably locates an idler wheel inside the hopper about which the feed chain rides to change its direction of travel. A wear plate is located beneath the idler wheel over which the chain rides as it is guided by the wheel.
Different width feed chains and conveyor troughs are used in poultry feed conveyors in accordance with the size of the system. For example, in very large confinement systems, a wide feed chain, in the nature of 23/4 inches is used with similarly sized conveyor troughs to insure that adequate feed is available to the animals along the entire length of the conveyor. For smaller confinement systems, conveyors with a chain width in the nature of two inches provide a sufficient flow of feed to the cages.
Heretofore, two separate corner units have been required to accommodate wide and narrow feed conveyors. This is a quite expensive construction technique, particularly with respect to the corner units as a result of their rather complex design. Assembly time, inventory costs, handling expenses, and assembly overhead costs are all increased as a result of the requirement for two or more different size conveyors.